Peanut Butter Breakfast Rollups

Alrighty readers, here's that recipe I promised you.  It's a bit odd but I think it's pretty darn amazing.

There are a lot of people out there who love breakfast.  My husband is one of them.  He'll eat breakfast any time of day and I'm pretty sure he believes that breakfast is the best meal.  I am not one of those people.  I don't like cereal all that much, I'm not the biggest fan of eggs after eating them for a year straight on some crazy diet years ago, and all the "fun" breakfast foods like dougnuts and waffles and pancakes are not the healthiest things so I try to stay away from those.  But, I do love this recipe.  It packs in some protein and a little fruit to tide me over until lunchtime. 

I can't take credit for any of this breakfasty goodness, that goes to Ms. Betty Crocker herself.  I didn't really adapt anything in this recipe other than the fact that I got rid of those pesky measurements.  The original recipe can be found here. Who needs measurements anyhow?

Spread peanut butter on a whole wheat tortilla.  I had never had a whole wheat tortilla until I made this and I assure you it tastes just fine; you don't really taste the tortilla anyhow.  The first time I made this I measured out 2 TB. of peanut butter.  It ended up being more than I would have put on the tortila if I hadn't measured so I no longer measure.  See, measurements are totally unnecessary.  

Drizzle on some honey.  Honestly I just drizzle it until I'm satisfied with the little pattern I made, but whatever works for you.  Also, I noticed that when I purchased honey the kind in the bear container was the same prices as the kinds in the non-bear containers.  Now I want to know who in their right mind would buy honey NOT in the bear container?  It's the same price, same amount, and it's just amazing because how many times do you get to buy foods packaged in animal shaped plastic?  Not very often my friends, not very often.  Okay, I'm sorry, I'm getting distracted.  

Ok, so you've slathered on the peanut butter and made a pretty honey design.  Now you slice a banana and lay the slices in a row in the center of the tortilla.  My pictures show a whole banana rolled up which you could also do, but it doesn't work/taste as good in my opinion.

Sprinkle on some mini chocolate chips.  You could leave the chips out; you really don't taste them that much but just a few give a little crunch and a different flavor.

Once you have your goodies in there, roll the tortilla up with the sliced bananas in the middle and enjoy!  Thanks Betty!! You rocker! Get it? Betty Crocker? Rocker?!?  Nevermind.....

Summin up the Summer

Holy cow this summer has gone fast.  It went by so fast that I didn’t even have a chance to blog!  I hope you had a wonderful couple of months.  I have been spending a large part of the summer trying to not melt from the ridiculous Arizona heat.  One of Mr. C’s family members came to visit a few weeks ago and after telling us about the 120+ temp of her car she remarked, “you people are crazy!”  I couldn’t agree more, we are crazy.  Every summer I think that it’s impossible that it was ever cold in this state but then November comes,  I open the windows and take walks and wear layers and my beloved scarves and I think it’s impossible that it was ever really THAT hot.  And then the process repeats itself.  I think this is also called insanity.

Since I can’t possibly tell you everything I did this summer, I’ll share a few pictures with you.

Ohmygosh is this not the cutest puppy you’ve ever seen?  We got Coconut groomed at the beginning of summer and when Mr. C brought her home she had the cutest pink feathery bows.  They lasted about 5 minutes after I took this photo.  That’s probably a good thing though because the cat (the one with claws), thought they were toys strategically placed on the dog.

Mr. C and I served on Chrysalis, a Christian youth retreat.  We were cooks although that word doesn’t even begin to describe it.  Anyhow, we both needed an apron so I prettied them up.  We joked that we almost got a divorce trying to figure out how to get that pocket on there but we worked through it (whew!).  I was really happy with the end result.  I was also very proud of myself that I kept my apron so clean.   Right after I said that very thing out loud I looked down to find that the chocolate ice cream I was serving had dripped all over my white apron.  Oops.  The weekend was very fun though and it was amazing to see the transition in the kids.  I especially loved that I was able to serve with Mr. C, one of my amazing friends, some friends I hadn’t seen in awhile, and also met some really wonderful people.

My dad is IMPOSSIBLE to buy for.  I really think he is the worst person in the entire world to try to find a gift for.  So, for father’s day I wrote him a cheesy rhymey poem and promised him a few homemade pies and lets face it, there’s really no baked good that beats my pies.  I whipped up this baby, filled it with cherries, and even took the time to do the lattice top.  I should mention I was baking this at my parent’s house in their oven that apparently is not like ours.  As we were eating dinner I smelled something and went to check the pie.  Black smoke billowed out of the oven and flames shot out.  Okay, that’s a bit drastic but it would be accurate to say I burnt the crap out of the top crust.  We are warriors though and ate it.  It was still amazing.

There’s not much to say about this one except that I got the best pedicure available in Nebraska.  People say there’s not much to see in Nebraska but I beg to differ.  For one there’s an amazing nail tech who gives killer pedis.  She’s a pretty awesome person too. 

Whoa, you even get a BONUS PIC with this one!  When I was little my parents would take me to Sioux City to shop (you have to go to the big city for the good shopping experiences you know) and drive around and eat hotdogs.  These aren’t just any hot dogs though.  The Milwaukee Weiner House has been around forever.  My dad grew up eating these things so you know it’s been a long time.  Their menu is very basic and hot dogs are about the only thing you can get.  Well, that and glass bottled drinks.  I should also probably mention that I don’t really eat hot dogs.  EVER.  Except of course when we visit the Milwaukee Weiner House.  I may have had three.  Yes, don’t judge me.  They were amazing and after we drove around checking out the old houses which is another one of my loves.

I’ve been a reading fool this summer.  If you remember, my library book requests got a little out of control and I ended up with a zillion books at once.  I love how books have the capacity to suck you into a new world and the best writers write in such a way that you feel the emotions of the characters.  Unfortunately I have a tendency to get sucked in too much and for the next few days I’m upset I’m not a wizard or shadowhunter or whatever the main character was.  Although I read a bunch of books, this is the only one I felt the need to take a photo of apparently and I really have no idea why I have the photo anyhow.  I loved “The Last Summer of You and Me” by the same author and was very excited to find another book by her.  I read most of this book while flying back to AZ from NE.  After we got our luggage and drove home the logical choice would have been to unpack, do laundry, or go to sleep.  Instead I kept reading this book.  It was that good.  I even cried at one point and I am NOT a crier.   Anyhow, the point is that this book is amazing and you need to read it. 

I may have spent half of my summer cooking and cutting up fresh produce.  I’ve bought more corn, avocado, jalapenos and smoothie makings than I have in my entire life.  Although we’ve tried a bunch of new recipes this summer I still have no idea sometimes what to make when I sit down to do my weekly meal planning.  I do have a few new favs now though that I’m excited to share with you so stay tuned for posts with lots of pictures.  I specifically took this photo to prove that sometimes my food is picture pretty.  Please keep that in mind when you’re wondering what happened to the food in future pictures.

I will have a recipe for you next time. I can almost hear you jumping up and down and yelling with glee!  It’s super amazing and I’m pretty obsessed with it.  Did that hook you yet?  

Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

I got through restaurant phases where I want to eat at the same place EVERY single time we go out.  It drives Mr. C crazy.  Apparently he likes variety or something crazy like that.  Anyhow, after we ordered the Spicy Chicken Rigatoni at Buca di Beppo I was hooked.  I was so excited to find a knock-off recipe on pinterest and I’ve been making it ever since.  It’s cheaper to make at home and I love that I know exactly what’s going into it.  There are peas in the original Buca recipe but I’ve never been a big fan so I leave them out.

You can cook the chicken on the stove, oven, or grill.  Based on my experience, the grilled chicken is by far the best so I’ll have Mr. C grill it the night before and just slice it when I get home from work.  It helps make this a quick weeknight dinner.

Cook the pasta al dente according to the package directions.  Once done drain water, put in a bowl, mix in a little olive oil (about 1 tsp.), and set aside.  The olive oil will prevent the noodles from sticking together while you prep the rest of the meal.

Heat the garlic in a saucepan over medium heat and add the garlic and crushed red peppers.   Sauté until fragrant, about one minute.  Add the chicken and stir until well coated in olive oil mixture. 

Add the marinara sauce, then the alfredo and bring to a simmer.  Cook a few minutes until sauce thickens slightly.   Add salt and pepper, butter (I leave this out frequently and think it tastes great without, the butter just gives it a slightly richer taste) and peas (we aren’t a pea family so these are always omitted at our house).

Remove from heat and add pasta, stirring until noodles are well coated.  The peas would add a bit of color to this dish....  Enjoy!

This usually makes enough for about 6-8 servings.  It’s great for dinner and even better as leftovers for lunch!

Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

Adapted from: http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/2423433-Spicy-Chicken-Rigatoni

6-8 servings

Ingredients

¼ c. olive oil

½ Tb. crushed red peppers (add more if you like it spicier)

dash salt and pepper

1 Tb. garlic, minced

Chicken breasts, grilled (I use 2 -3 chicken cutlets)

1 c. marinara sauce

¾ c. alfredo sauce

2 tsp. butter (can omit this – I usually do since it has plenty of flavor without)

¼ c. peas (if you like that sort of thing)

1 lb. Rigatoni pasta, cooked al dente according to directions

Cook chicken and slice.

Cook pasta al dente and set aside, tossing with olive oil.

Heat the garlic in a saucepan over medium heat and add the garlic and crushed red peppers.   Sauté until fragrant, about one minute.  Add the chicken and stir until well coated in olive oil mixture. 

Add the marinara sauce, then the alfredo and bring to a simmer.  Cook a few minutes until sauce thickens slightly.   Add salt and pepper, butter (optional) and peas (optional).

Remove from heat and add pasta, stirring until noodles are well coated.  Enjoy!

Garlic Green Beans

One of my favorite side dishes is fresh sautéed green beans.  If you've never made fresh green beans you are missing out!  They are so much better than the canned ones and make for a quick and healthy side that goes great with anything. 

Here’s my favorite way to make them.  I typed a condensed version of the directions at the bottom as well.  Sorry for the shadowy pics; my camera and I weren't getting along so well...

Set a pot of water to boil while you prep the beans.

I start by snapping off (or cutting) the ends of the green beans and snapping them into reasonable bite-sized pieces.  Wash them and set aside.

Once the water is boiling dump the beans in and cook until tender.  You want them tender but not mushy – this is very important, so make sure to check them often.  I tend to cook mine a bit crispier, usually somewhere between 5-7 minutes. 

While the beans are boiling throw some ice in a large bowl and fill about halfway full with cool water.  Be careful not to fill the bowl since you'll need room for the beans.  This is the key to keeping the beans crunchy instead of mushy so don’t skip this step.

When the beans are done drain them and then dump them immediately into the bowl of ice water.  Allow to cool for a few minutes, adding ice or more cool water if necessary.  Once the beans have cooled you'll drain them again, making sure to remove any pieces of ice that may be hiding.

Heat up some olive oil in a skillet.  It depends on how many beans you have but I’d start with 1 Tb.  Add the garlic - as Mr. C can confirm, I don't measure garlic very well but just for you I measured this time and came up with about 4-5 garlic cloves.  Then throw in about ½ tsp. crushed red peppers, adding more if you want them spicier.  Sauté this for about a minute, until the garlic becomes fragrant.  

Add the beans and stir to coat in olive oil mixture.  Sauté until the beans are warm, adding more olive oil if necessary. 

Ingredients

Fresh green beans, ends removed

1 Tb. Olive Oil

4-5 garlic cloves, minced

½ tsp. crushed red pepper

Directions

Add green beans to boiling water and cook until tender but still crunchy, about 5-7 minutes. 

Fill a large bowl halfway full of cool water and ice, leaving enough room to add the beans later.

Once the beans are tender strain them and immediately add to the cool ice water.  Let cool for a few minutes.  Strain beans again.

Heat olive oil in a skillet.  Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook until fragrant, about one minute. Add green beans and sauté until warm and well coated in olive oil mixture.

The Planner Post

I plan my meals, my weeks, and I make to-do lists like no other.  Without planning I feel like a house ravaged by a tornado looks.  It’s not a pretty thing.

I've been meaning to write about my planner forever.  Seriously I think it's been 6 months already.  I guess I should have written in my planner to do a post about this.  I used to buy my mom a planner/calendar for Christmas.  One year I lost the one I bought her somehow.  Since I ALWAYS get her a planner I ended up buying one right before Christmas so she wouldn't be disappointed.   I wrote in birthdays and important dates and then of course the old one magically appeared in my car under the seat.  It's great how that always happens.  I could have taken it back but honestly I was too lazy and I HATE taking things back around Christmas time and also I'm pretty sure I lost the receipt for the first one I purchased.  Since I wasn't going to return it I started using it and that little book changed my life.

 

Fast forward a couple years.  By this point in the story I'd been using the same brand of planner every year.  It was cute but basic and didn't always have enough space for me, especially since I like to make "to do" lists all the time.  I've tried using my phone and once upon a time I was super cool and had a PDA (I should mention that back in the day I was even cooler and had a trapper keeper, but that's another story...).  For me I need to physically write things down and I like being able to flip through a paper calendar verses one on my phone or computer.

 

I knew I needed to find something that worked better for me so I started looking online and somehow stumbled upon Erin Condren planners. The price was more than I usually (EVER!!!) spend on my planner, but I fell in love with the layout and colors. I watched the video online and was hooked. After convincing Mr. C that this thing was amazing (didn’t take much, I just rambled a bit and then made him watch the video - in fact he may have just said yes to get out of watching the video for the third time), I took forever to pick my design and finally I ordered my planner. I’m not a very patient person but I waited a whole month (word of advice - don't order around Christmas if you aren't patient) for it to arrive in the mail. I was so excited! Even the box it came in was beautiful!

 

I've been using my wonderful planner for over six months now and it's just the best thing ever. I take it almost everywhere with me.  It's like my new BFF.  My friend texted me today asking me about my "snazzy planner" and I was so excited she was considering getting her own that I could barely contain my excitement to text her back.  Unfortunately no one is paying me to write this (if you'd like to pay me though I'm happy to send you my mailing address), I'm just very passionate about products I love.  I love the company and appreciate their amazing customer service that have led to only positive experiences.  I think it's difficult to find functional products that are also pretty so when I do I'm hooked.  The 12-13 planners are now available (as of today!) and they've added a bunch of amazing things like photo stickers and pens that no one really needs but we order anyhow.  So, if you're feeling stressed and are in the market for a new planner to simplify the millions of things you need to remember you should check out erincondren.com.  They have about a million other amazing products as well, I just wish money grew on the trees in our backyard.  Enjoy!

 

#87 and Snazzy New Library Card Syndrome

Guess who's got a new library card and another one of the 101 tasks checked off?  It’s ME!!!  Congrats if you guessed right.  Yes, a library card. I realize this sounds super lame since they hand these things out like candy at a parade. Fingerprints aren't required, blood samples (I'd be out if this was the case), a waiting period or even an application fee. We lived about 5 minutes away from a library for over two years and I couldn't ever seem to get myself there though. I added it to my 101 list thinking it would be simple to cross off, something to get me motivated. Over a year later I’m FINALLY crossing this off.

We were on the way to Home Depot for the millionth time (seriously at least twice every. single. weekend. I can't even understand this) when I YELLED "we should get library cards!" Mr. C looked over (he's used to me randomly yelling stuff) to see a very stupid looking grin on my face and without asking questions (he’s learned it’s better not to) turned down the street towards the library. After about 10 minutes I was holding my snazzy new card which of course I just HAD to use immediately. 

I headed over to the computers to search for an amazing book.  At first I blanked out. I couldn't think of any books. Then one popped in my head. I did a quick search only to find out that not only was it not at the library I was but there was a waiting list. Okay, no biggie. I searched again to discover the same problem. I finally found a book that was actually in the library.  It was like winning the lottery.  I wanted to do a cheer but figured that would not be appreciated by the other patrons.  The book was written by one of my favorite authors and although the name sounded familiar the cover did not. I walked myself over to self-checkout and then hurried out to the car to start reading on the way home.  I know, I sound overeager but I was of course suffering from snazzy library card syndrome (which of course is a very real and documented thing).  As I was reading I realized I had indeed read this book before. A month before to be exact.  I have the paperback (I should also mention I have a signed author's copy of the paperback so it's not like I shouldn’t have remembered I had the book...it was a huge deal when I got it). Unfortunately the hard cover looked much different. My stupid grin faded away and I was left sitting in the car with a book I had already read and a snazzy new library card that couldn't get me any books I hadn't yet read and actually wanted. I was too embarrassed to go back inside, face the nice older lady that explained the entire library system to me, and swap my book out.  Plus, although the place was full of books it seemed to not be full of any books I actually wanted to read (like when the fridge is empty because nothing looks good or you have NOTHING to wear even though the closet is jam packed full of clothes).

I proceeded to go home and reserve about a bazillion books online. The entire reservation process is actually quite dangerous; it's like when I discovered ebay. I'd smile every time the message popped up saying I successfully reserved a book. The time it told me I was 40th in line for said reserved book I may have in fact been swearing instead of smiling but that's really beside the point. Now I'm really hoping all of my bazillion reserved books don't become available at the same time. By the time I get any of them I will probably have forgotten or perhaps my excitement will be over by that point. Or, perhaps I'll forget to pick them up and will be charged a $2 for every single one of those bazillion books I was crazy about reserving.

Point of this very long story = if you don’t have a library card you should rush right out and get one, but don’t hold your breath that you’ll be able to get a book you actually want.  If you get a library card today there is a strong possibility that you’ll be able to get a book you want within the next 6 months.  Unfortunately if you live in the Phoenix area I probably already reserved that book in my quest to reserve a bazillion books.  Sorry about that.

Phoenix Botanical Garden

I'm back!!!  I took a bit of a hiatus from blogging (hopefully you noticed!).  Life got really busy and as more time passed blogging was pushed to the backburner, but I really missed it an I'm back with some updates!  Today you just get a lot of pictures with minimal rambling :)

 

Once upon a time there were days that existed in Phoenix that weren't incredibly hot.  Although it seems years away, a little over a month ago we enjoyed one of these days at the Botanical Gardens.  It was a cloudy day and we had a cold-front in Phoenix which meant I could wear a light sweater outside which was just amazing.  That seems like an eternity ago.  If only I could have bottled up this weather!

 

We went to the Botanical Gardens once in February to check out the location as a possible wedding venue.  We got in free that time and were relieved because we were both super not impressed and were mad enough we gave up our time to go.  The "garden" was full of bland plants a whole bunch of cacti (imagine that in Arizona).  We hightailed it out of there pretty quickly.  I was later told that the gardens were really beautiful in spring.  A few years ago I saw (or noticed) my very first cactus flower.  I didn't even know they existed until I moved here (I must have lived under a rock or something) and even then it took a couple years.  Anyhow, this made me realize that cacti can actually be pretty instead of just scary pokey green things and I decided to give the Botanical Gardens one more shot in spring and I'm so glad I did. 

 

I got a groupon deal (first one ever!) while the butterflies were still out at the gardens.  It was so pretty, such a nice day, and a great date!  We took a TON of photos once we finally figured out a few new-to-us settings on the camera.  Here are a few of my favorites....I have problems limiting myself so when I say "a few" I really mean a lot :)  Enjoy!